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Review: Evoland (PC)

Although the video game is a relatively a young medium, it already
has evolved in numerous ways. The technology behind video games has
gone from not even managing 256 available colours, pixels, and sounds to
providing over four billion available colours, over eight hundred
thousand pixels for display, and an orchestral array of available
notes. The games themselves have transitioned from Pong to 2D
shooters to platformers to role-playing games to first-person
shooters to massively multiplayer online RPGs. The audience has grown
from several thousand to several million individuals.

Evoland plays on this journey, but only covers a small part of this evolution and is mainly
focused on the sub-genre of the action-adventure game. As the play-on-words name
suggests, the main appeal to Evoland is that the game will evolve
from a monochrome and pixelated 2D game to a completely 3D game with
dynamic lighting and HD textures. This aspect, combined with heavy
influences from and allusions to both the early Legend
of Zelda
and the Final
Fantasy
titles, are at the core of the recipe to Evoland.

But the question of whether or not the recipe produces a desirable
product is one not easily answered. While on the surface the video
game has the elements of a charming and delightful package, that is
also the problem; the surface does not say anything about the core of
the game. While individuals who play Evoland will have to
decide for themselves whether there's a core beneath that presentation, I can personally say
this about the game; it is a one-trick pony.

Once a player has journeyed through Evoland, there is very
little reason to return to the game. The genuine novelty of the first
playthrough is gone and the extras are just small collectibles that
do not affect the game in any tangible way. The only reward for
completing the only optional dungeon in the game is a playing card,
used in a simple card game that itself does not yield any tantalising
rewards itself. Once the non-completionist has finished Evoland, they can
let it sit on their (digital) shelf. It's over.

But
let this be clear; Evoland is far from a bad, or even bland, game.
The first play-through novelty is the reason why I can still recommend this game,
especially to those who grew up with those
early iterations of the Legend
of Zelda
and Final
Fantasy
series. The wonder, humour, and in-joke references are a genuinely enjoyable experience when players don't know they're coming.
This is mainly why I have been skirting around actually discussing
Evoland in detail; if I discuss too much about the game, then I will
spoil it for many potential players.

Unfortunately, the novelty aspect of Evoland is also the reason why
some players may see it as an unworthy product, and rightfully so. Novelty eventually fades. Evoland is light on
substance and truly original ideas, something that I would partially
blame on the concept and partially blame on the fact that the
developer, Shiro Games, did not want their Kickstarter backers to
wait very long for the game that they backed and pre-ordered (yep. These Kickstarter projects are starting to expose the flaws in the system - ed)

Nevertheless,
if the player is willing to allow the game the space to be novel
without strong substance, then I can recommend Evoland. So, let's leave it at that, shall we? If you
grew up on The
Legend of Zelda
and Final
Fantasy
and do not mind novelty, do your best to check out Evoland.

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